Ex-policeman Gets Nine Years In Prison For Molesting Boy

January 18, 1985|By Mary Anderson, Staff Writer

Convicted of indecently assaulting a boy, former Margate Police Officer Mark Claude Manley is to serve nine years in prison followed by five years` probation and psychotherapy, Broward Circuit Judge George Shahood decided Thursday.

Assistant State Attorney Joel Lazarus contended that Manley should be given a harsh sentence, in part, because as a police officer he was responsible for upholding a greater position of authority and trust than average citizens.

But the defense argued it would be unfair to treat him as an example, saying there was no evidence he had abused his position as a police officer.

Defense attorney Harvey Swickle said, ``For 41 or 42 years, he has led an exemplary life. . . . Mr. Manley should not be singled out to satisfy either the news media or the prosecution in this case.``

The defense had asked Shahood to stay within sentencing guidelines of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years for the convictions, focusing on Manley`s past and community support for him.

They also presented dozens of letters from residents who disbelieved the truth of the charges and urged the judge to go easy on the four-year police veteran and youth adviser who was honored as Florida`s Police Explorer of the Year.

Among the letter-writers was Julie Johnson, Manley`s fiancee, who sat through the trial and sentencing and said she plans to marry him when he gets out of prison.

Another supportive letter came from Mark Syverud, editor of the Quad City News, a local weekly paper.

``To me, Mark always seemed a `straight arrow` -- so clean-cut and honest that he was almost laughable in this day and age. With his crew cut and straightforward manner, he reminded me of a John Glenn-type Boy Scout,`` he said.

It was that image, and Manley`s position of authority and trust as a police officer who sought work with children, that made the case so troubling, prosecutor Lazarus told the judge.

``What an enigma, what a disgrace to the position he held in this community and the position he held in the (victim`s) household,`` Lazarus said, suggesting a 15-year prison term, $10,000 fine and 15 years probation.

Manley was convicted in November of molesting the son of a former girlfriend between 1979 and 1982. But the jury acquitted him of two counts of sexual battery.

Manley met the family when, as a Margate police aide, he took a report of vandalism from the mother. He began dating the mother and eventually moved in.

Manley also awaits trial March 18 on two counts of sexual battery and two counts of indecent assault against the same woman`s daughter and a neighborhood friend.